Heartworms
Finnigan is not on a heartworm medication and the vet has never discussed this with us. I meant to ask when we took him in for his one year shots a few weeks ago but we had to see a substitute vet as ours was out of town and I was so busy bringing her up to date on Finn that I completely forgot to ask her. My family has never had our dogs on heartworm meds when I was growing up and I’ve been told before that it's not a big concern in Arizona (at least in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area). I admittedly know nothing about heartworm medications and I don't want to put him on unnecessary medications. I was even wondering if there was a holistic approach. I'm hoping all of you can share your knowledge and offer advice to help me make an informed decision. Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by RILEY, MAGGIE and Christine Kemp on
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Alice...I have read many of these comments on heartworm and I agree that heartworms are very serious, but chemicals in my puppy's body is a very serious issue too. This is why I was looking for alternatives...unfortunately, it appears to me that a natural heartworm preventative is not the way to go. I definately will not give Riley Heartgard or Interceptor year around. We have very cold winters and usually cold springs (lots of sun though). The mosquitoes are here, at least in the past years, starting in May or June through July or September. Riley will be given whichever brand his vet recommends, but only from April through September. Also, Riley is eating a healthy diet and will continue to eat this way to support his immune system...cost is not the determining factor here. Am I correct in thinking that these products are not preventative in the sense that they don't stop the mosquitoes from biting, they kill after the monsters are in the system? Riley will be going to the vet for neutering...he apparently doesn't have testicles, so his will be exploratory to see if the testicles are hidding. He will have a blood test for heartworm at that time.
Neutering brings up another topic for discussion..."Puppies born without testicles".
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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Yes, you are correct in how the medication works. I know how you feel since I cannot make this decision either but I agree, the natural approach doesn't seem like the best idea. It's a tough decision but many dogs are on these meds and it makes me wonder if I am overreacting.
Finnigan was a cryptorchid too as he had one retained testicle. They did locate it in his abdomen so he had two incisions. It was basically like being neutered and spayed at once and the healing time is a little longer than a regular neutering. Finn did well though. He had to be on antibiotics because he had some fluid retention around the abdominal incision but that was it.
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Permalink Reply by Lawren and Teddy on
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Yes heartworm is rare in AZ but it does occur there. One of my grandparents' dogs (they live in Tucson) died from heartworms. It was quite gruesome, sad and totally preventative. A cousin of mine, living in Tempe, had to treat her dog for heartworms. Luckily it was caught early and the dog survived and lived a fairly normal long live.
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That's surprising. I've lived here my entire life and always had dogs and I have never had an experience with heartworms or known anyone who has. I've also always lived in the same area of Scottsdale/Phoenix so maybe there is a drastic difference between here and Tempe, Chandler etc. That's why I've been trying to ask various people I know here about what their vets recommended and what they do. Vet's in other cities may be more adamant about heartworm preventatives.
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My aunt lived in Glendale (which I know is not near Scottsdale) and she always treated her dogs (at one point she had 7) for heartworms. As Beth said, there can be a lot of standing water with the canals and irrigation and swimming pools. My aunt had a large plot of land that was fed by the irrigation canals and after irrigation would have soggy pieces of land that would take a while to dry up, even in the summer and had a swimming pool so she was being cautious. You have to do what you think is best for Finn. Just thought I would tell you about the two cases I know about.
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Permalink Reply by Kari & Quin on
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I live in AZ also (Tucson) and I will not be putting my puppy on heart worm pesticide, they are more likely to be bitten by a black widow then a mosquitoe and it isnt like all mosquitoes carry the heart worms.
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Before my husband and I retired to the high desert in Central Oregon, I had never heard of heartworm! I'm not sure whether I read about it in The Whole Dog Journal, the newspaper here or Tucker's new vet told me about it. I learned that in the after math of Katrina (or the storm that devistated New Orleans) dogs in that area were adopted out to different states. Some of these dogs carried heartworm. Thus, the heartworm was introduced to areas that didn't have a problem before...so the vicious cycle began. I'm not positive that this is true...but, it makes sense to me.
We live in an area where alot of the population is indigent and doesn't vaccinate their animals. There is a leash law in place for Bend (30 miles away), but nothing that is enforced in La Pine...dogs run loose. Parvo is also very much a concern. We have cold winters and warm summers. The snow begins to melt and the moisture and warmth come together in a perfect storm...wala, prime mosquito conditions and we live less than a mile from the Little Descutes River. Another problem, we have a plant, Bitter Brush, in which the mosquitoes like to lay their eggs. Why do we live here...it is drop dead gorgeous and very layed back, no hustle and bustle of the city! I have learned from MyCorgi.com that this whole issue of heartworm isn't black and white, it is complex. It is an individuals personal decision (I would hope informed decision), considering where they live, how they will prevent this dreaded disease from infecting their dog. The consequences can be very expensive in more than one way.
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